Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Ireland are suffering from a confidence level which is at a two year low, but the jobs market for people working for them is starting to improve, with fewer companies now looking to let some of their staff go.

The fourth quarterly business trends survey from the Irish Small & Medium Enterprises Association (ISME) which saw it interview directors at 626 companies, found that while employment was still seeing a reduction overall, the fall was starting to level off.

While last quarter saw 22 per cent of SMEs reducing their number of staff, this quarter saw just 13 per cent do the same. This was the lowest figure for over three years.

ISME head of research, Jim Curran told Business and Leadership: "The government therefore needs to step up to the plate  and attempt to resuscitate the domestic economy by addressing business concerns, including cost competitiveness, access to finance, late payments and the deteriorating labour market."

IBEC and PricewaterhouseCoopers recently reported better news for Ireland, as they said employment was set to recover within the next five years.

Posted by Alex Donnell